Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1 tsp Mixed Spice
• 3/4 cup Margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup Superfine sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 2 tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp Hot water
• 1/2 cup Granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup Water
• 2 Cinnamon sticks
• 1/4 cup Dark rum
• 2 tbsp Slivered almonds
• 6 oz Semisweet chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325'F. Generously grease a 5-cup fluted or plain tube pan and dust lightly with flour.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and Mixed Spice into a bowl. Add margarine, superfine sugar and eggs.
3. Blend cocoa powder with hot water and add to flour mixture.
4. Beat well with a wooden spoon 2 minutes or 1 minute if using an electric mixer. Turn mixture into prepared pan
5. Bake in preheated oven 1-1/4 hours or until well risen and cake begins to shrink from edges of pan. Carefully turn out cake onto a wire rack and cool.
6. Combine granulated sugar and 2/3 cup water in a saucepan.
7. Add cinnamon and heat gently, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add rum and discard cinnamon.
8. Place cake on a plate. Spoon syrup over cake and let stand 2 hours. Cover top of cake with almonds
9. Melt chocolate; carefully spoon over cake, spreading to give a smooth even coating.
10. Let stand several hours. Pipe (with a pastry bag) whipped cream around bottom of cake.